Display card



May 28, 1946 NEW N 2,401,177

- DIS'PLAY CARD I Filed Aug. 27, 1941 to 35 INVENTOR. e

Fi .5 Claude Newman ATTORNEY.

Patented May 28, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,4;01417 DISPLAY CARD Claude Newman, Lincoln, Nebr. Application August 27, 1941, Serial No. 408,465

3 Claims.

The present invention is concerned with a display card and more particularly with one adapted to be attached to merchandise to indicate the price thereof.

At the present time, it is customary to employ in a store a number of different types of price cards depending upon the type of merchandise to be priced. Thus, in the case of cans, it is often customary to employ a price card which has a supporting loop which surrounds the can. In the case of certain packages, the price cards are provided with flanges adapted to be held between two packages. There are also numerous other types of cards used with various shapes of merchandise.

An object of the present inventionis to provide a display card which can be secured to almost any type of merchandise and which will remain rigidly in position when so secured.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a display card which requires no preliminary assembling before being attached to the merchandise.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pack of display cards of the type set out wherein the individual cards of the pack are held together prior to use by adhesive strips which dise.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a display card wherein the card is afiixed to the merchandise by a flanged portion coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a display card of the type which can be secured to the surface of merchandise of any normal shape and which at the same time can be employed in connection with the convenlater serve to affix them to the merchan- Figure 5 is a front elevational view of the card used, in connection with the conventional price marker strips; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the card as applied to a shelf with the shelf and the marker strip being shown in section along the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Referring to Figure l,'I have shown a plurality of my improved display cards secured to-' gether in a pack in the form in which they are distributed. It will be noted that each card comprises a body portion 10. This body portion is slotted as at I I, the slot ll extending down from the upper edge at substantially right angles thereto to provide two tabportions [2 and I3.

The body portion In is scored as at M, the line i of scoring extending from the left hand edge to a point somewhat above the lower end of slit I I. By reason of this scoring, it is possible to fold the tab I2 out of the plane of the body portion of the card.

It is to be noted that the portions l5 and I6 of the left hand edge of the card, constituting the edge portions of tab [2 and body portion In respectively, define a plane when the tab I2 is folded out of the plane of the body portion of the card. If the scoring I4 is at right angles to the left hand edge of the card, this plane will be t at right angles to the plane of the card. This tional shelf marker stripsto call particular attention to certain items on shelves.

Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying specification, claims, and drawing of which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of the pack of display cards constituting the present invention;

Figure 2 'is an isometric view of the novel display card attached to one of a number of packages in a display pile of packages of merchandise;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the display card attached to the package of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the card attached to a cylindrical object such as a can of merchandise; a

is the usual arrangement although the invention contemplates the casein which the scoring might be at an angle other than ninety degrees to the left hand edge of the card. In such case, the plane defined by the edges l5 and 16 would form an angle other than ninety degrees with the plane of card It).

Secured to the left hand edge of the card, including both the main portion l0 and the tab I2, is a tape l8. This tape is an adhesive tape preferably of the type havinga coating of a permanently tacky, pressure sensitive adhesive material. The type which has been found desirable for this purpose is that marketed under the trade name of Scotch tape. A typical tape of this r character is a tape of regenerated cellulose coated with an adhesive of the nature disclosed in Patent No. 1,814,132 to Drew, dated July 14, 1931. As is well known, such an adhesive remains in a permanently tacky state and will cause two objects to adhere together upon pressure being applied to the objects. The adhesive coated tape I8 is secured to the card Ill solely by reason of the adhesive on the surface thereof, this adhesive being on the under side of the tape. It is to s be noted that a substantial part of the tape I8 from the underlying tapes.

projects beyond the left hand edges of the body portion I and the tab l2 of the display card. This projecting part is severed at l9 along a line which forms a continuation of the scoring M. The result of the slit I9 is that the projecting part comprises two portions 29 and 2| each of which in fact constitutes a flange portion coated with an adhesive material. The tape I8 is preferably sufficiently thin that it can be folded with ease. Consequently, it is very easy to fold the flange portions 26 and 2| out of the planes of the body portion l6 and the tab portion 12.

In attaching the card to a surface, the flange pressed against the surface to,

portion 25 is first which the card is applied so as to adhere thereto. The main body portion is then folded at right angles to the supporting'surface and the tab 12 is then folded out of the plane of the body por tion l0, preferably through an angle of about one hundred and thirty-five degrees, This is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 in which the tab l2 has been folded back so as to form with the rear surface of the card an angle of about forty-five degrees. The two projecting portions and 2! of the adhesive coated tape it have been secured to the side of package which is the top pack age of the pile of such packages constituting the sales display. It is to be noted that the body portion It of the card is absolutely rigid with respect to the package and that this rigidity is obtained by reason of the manner in which it is attached to the package rather than by any method by which the card is assembled. In other words, the card is rigidly secured to the package by reason of the fact that it is secured along two non-aligned bands which lie within the plane of the surface to which the card is attached.

As indicated in Figure 1, the shape of the card is ideally suited to the pricing of merchandise. The tab it provides a conspicuous place for the location of any legends of an explanatory nature. Thus, in the examples shown, the rigid tab I3 has thereon a legend On Sale Today. The lower portion of the card has a legend indicating the price and provides a space for the application of any other information which may be desired. In actual practice, it is contemplated that the cards will be printed with information similar to that shown in Figure 1. In other words, there will be a group of cards for each sale price. As indicated in Figure 1, these cards are assembled in pad form and are so held together by the projecting parts of adhesive strips l8. Thus, there will be one of these books of pads for each sale price which is normally employed in the store. In pricing the merchandise, all that the store employee must do is to grasp the uppermost card by the right hand end of the body portion it and pull it loose from the pad by separating the uppermost adhesive coated tape In pulling the card loose, the projecting edges 20 and 2| tend to be bentforwardly. The projecting edge 20 is now pressed against the merchandise and the body portion it is folded forwardly until it is at an angle of ninety degrees with the surface of the merchandise. The tab i2 is then folded backwards. The projecting edge 2| is then bent backwardly and pressed against the merchandise, If it is desired to have additional data on the card besides the notation On Sale Today and the price, the store employee may write this additional information before removing the card from the pad.

While the card has been shown as affixed to a flat surface, the card can also be attached to a cylindrical surface such as that of a conventional can. Thus, as shown in the top plan view of Figure 4, a card is attached to a can, It will be noted that the projecting edge 20 instead of being bent at right angles is bent at an angle conforming with the curvature of the can 23. It is desirable but not necessary to have the main body portion it in front of the diametrical line which is parallel to the plane of the card. Preferably, the card should be so located that this diametrical line approximatel bisects the tab i2. When so located, the adhesive flange 2! can be secured to the curved surface of the can with a minimum of buckling. This buckling effect can further be reduced by folding the tab l2 at a sufficiently acute angle with respect to the plane of the main body portion ill so that the tab 12 traverses only a small angular portion of the can. While the optimum method of securing the tab to a can has been discussed above, actually, the card can be readily secured to a can by ailix ing it at almost any position below the flange. It will be readily apparent that regardless of what position with respect to the can the card is applied, the flange 20 will adhere to the can throughout its length. Furthermore, it will be obvious that the flange 2| can be made to adhere to the can for a substantial portion of its length thereby giving rigidity to the card.

One of the advantages of the card of the present invention is that it may be used also to mark shelf sales. It is customary to employ in connection with shelving for stores, price card supporting strips comprising a pair of flanges for retaining price cards. Referring specifically to Figures 5 and 6, a shelf is indicated by the reference numeral 36. Secured to this shelf is such a price card indicating strip 3|. It will be noted that the upper and lower ends of this strip 3| are turned forwardly to form flanges 32 and 33. Supported on the shelves are a plurality of cans 35 and a plurality of packages 35. A conventional type of price card 31 in shown in Figure 5 in connection with the packages 36 and in Figure 6 in connection with the cans 35. My improved sales price card is shown in connection with the cans 35. It is to be understood that this card is used for indicating when a special price exists on certain articles on the shelves. The card is adapted to be inserted in the flanged strip 3| over the regular price card 31. This is best shown in Figure 6. It will be noted that the folded edge adjacent the scoring line H! is located under the upper flange 32 and the outermost edge of tab 52 (now the lower edge of the tab) is located under the flange 33. The tab 13 still projects upwardly. It will be noted from Figure 5 that it projects over the actual goods themselves. Where the cards are to be used for this purpose, they are printed with an arrow 39. When so used, this arrow points upwardly to designate that the goods are those resting on top of the shelf to which the marker is attached. After the sale is over, my sale price card can be quickly detached from the price card indicating strip 3! and upon the sales price card being so detached, the regular price card is once more visible.

Because of my price card being so formed that it may be inserted in the regular indicating strips for shelf price cards, it is still further adaptable as a, general sales price card. It will thus be seen that I have provided a sales price card which can be used in almost all types of applications Regardless of whether encountered in a store. it is to be applied directly to the goods or to price card retaining strips, the card can be quickly attached and detached.

While I have shown a specific embodiment of the invention for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that the invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A display card comprising a card having a slot extending inwardly from a first edge for a short distance to provide two tab portions, said card being scored from a second edge to said slot along a line perpendicular to said second edge so as to facilitate the folding of one of said tab portions out of the plane of the card, said card having a flange portion coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive and extending from said second edge of both said card and said folding tab, said flange portion being severed adjacent the line of scoring to form two parts which can be folded about said second edge into the plane defined by said second edge of said main card and folding tab when said tab is folded out of the plane of said card.

2. A display card comprising a card having a slot extending inwardly from a first edge for a short distance to provide two tab portions, said card'being scored from a second edge to said slot along a line perpendicular to said second edge so as tofacilitate the folding of one of said tab portions out of the plane of the card, and

go ably in pack form.

a fiange portion formed'of a flexible tape coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive and secured to said card and said folding tab along said second edge with a portion projecting beyond said edge, the projecting portion of said tape being severed adjacent the line of scoring to form two parts which can be folded about said second edge into the plane defined by said second edge of said main'card and folding tab when said tab is folded out of the plane of said card.

3. A pack of display cards, each card having a slot extending inwardly from a first edge for a short distance to provide two tab portions, each card being scored from a second edge to said slot along a line perpendicular to said second edge so as to facilitate the folding of one of said tab portions out of the plane of the card, and a flange portion formed of a flexible tape coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive and secured to each card and folding tab along said second edge with a portion projecting beyond said second edge, the projecting portion of said tape being severed adjacent the line of scoring so as to be adapted to be folded into the plane defined by said edge of said main card and folding tab when said tab is folded out of the plane of said card, and the projecting portions of the tapes of the several cards of the pack being superposed and pressed together so as to holdthe cards detach- CLAUDE NEWMAN. 

